Romantic reminiscences

Yetunde Fashina-Arebi has in this work which centres entirely on human health and anatomy presented a compendium that is of immense value to humanity. Youth, Sex and Wellbeing is a book meant to help educate the society on the need to know and understand the whole essence of human relationships – relationships that border on how to create friends, how to enter into sexual life style, the implications and so on.

With her over 20 years experience as a journalist whose human angle column has set a standard on the first person narrative style, the information in the book are not only real and practicable, they go a long way in opening people’s eyes to the issue of man-woman relationships and the attendant consequences. The stories are not just emotional and down-to-earth, they touch on the fabric of a society and its people who have come to see sex as a normal way of life.

Yet, Arebi says that sex is more than that. In his view, sex is beyond mere man-woman relationship. Sex is life; it is knowledge, it directs people to being real human beings and so it has to be treated with absolute caution, respect, dignity and decorum. It is ordained by God primarily for pro-creation. And beyond that knowledge which propels man to indulge in or abuse sex to that level of debasement, there are lots and lots of headaches that follow it when it is wrongly applied.

That is why sex education, in the reckoning of Arebi, is necessary in order for people to begin on time to know what sex implies. This will help people to acquire information about sex and know, therefore, when and how to form the appropriate attitudes, beliefs, intimacies and the like, necessary to lead healthy sexual life.

Unfortunately, no one seems to teach teenagers when the time comes what to do or what not to do. This has led to too many sexual diseases that have today permeated the society. The author advocates for abstinence, if necessary, or for people to have self-control. But the acquisition of knowledge based on comprehensive information will invariably help to sort people out so that people will begin to have the appropriate value for sex.

Arebi’s book is deeper in terms of knowledge-base because she took her time to research her sources. With people telling their stories, how they began their first outing, their traumatic experiences and so on, the author has succeeded in giving the world an outstanding book on sex education from people’s confessions. It is easy to see a people totally steeped in sexual orgy and drama.

People begin quite early in life to practice sexual experimentation, most of which eventually land them in trouble. This is what Arebi tries to do; to encourage parents and adults to stand up to defend; to let the world know that sex is being abused in the country and more diseases are being spread to the detriment of people’s wellbeing, people’s future and more.

Sex is sacred to human existence, yet it is a natural urge which cannot be wished away. Then what must man do to use it properly for the good of the society. This is why the book is an encyclopedia on those issues. There is the need for man to learn to acquire habits for a healthy relationship. The author harps on this when she says on page 91 that “God’s stand against sex out of the marital bed may be further buttressed by the many Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDS), abortion, and unplanned and unwanted pregnancies plaguing our society…Ironically, science, having concluded and agreed with the Creator that only marital sex as recommended by God,’ that is, sex between a man and a woman who are faithful to one another is the only ideal form of sexual relationship’ if one wants to remain free of STDs….”

With the rate at which sexually-transmitted diseases spread these days, no one is safe. It is so alarming that the book opens people’s senses to some of the serious issues associated with it. The author is indeed meticulous in this regard, harping on the rapid spread and what needs to be done to curtail it.

Divided into sections, the book is easy to read and comprehend. It has a style that is unique where you read and follow with examples. To her, the examples will help readers to avoid other people’s mistakes; mistakes that have ruined many souls and rendered people’s sexual lives irreparable. And now that we know there are millions of ways to show people that we love them without sex, let us try to copy and practice those ways. You can only grasp these ideals by going through the book and also making the lesson you learn from it part of your life.

Even though more has to be done to make sex education a part of school programmes in the society, Arebi has done her part. The rest should be the clarion call of both parents and government at all levels. Every practical step needs to be taken now to ensure the safety of the people; abortion has to be discouraged and the youths guided in the right path to be of good good behaviour sexually.

With the cover showing a man and a woman in a romantic posture, Arebi has equally set the tone for a romantic and academic excursion into her world.